Archive for category Civil Projects

I began writing on this blog way back in 2008. It was a slow journey. I had to learn everything on my own. There are a lot of resources on the internet if you wish to learn. I had very little experience with the entire process of launching a website.

In 2007, I joined university to study Architecture. At the same time, I decided to start a website. I liked to write, and blogging was an excellent platform for it. I had created static sites during the days of GeoCities. But things had changed in 2007. Static sites were passe. Internet had moved to Web 2.0 technologies which used PHP and AJAX instead of plain old HTML. There were a few publishing platforms available in those days. WordPress, Blogger, Joomla, Drupal, TypePad and a few others.

The most popular were WordPress by Automattic, and Blogger by Google. I created free blogs on both these platforms to check out their capabilities. WordPress was superior in some ways, Blogger in others. But overall, WordPress had the edge because of its enormous ecosystem of plugins and themes.

The best way to leverage this powerful platform was to create a self-hosted blog, where you were free to use the WordPress platform on your own server. This way, you could have total control over customization of your blog. Installing a WordPress site is a simple process, using automated scripts provided by almost all hosting companies. Installing it manually is also simple, but you have to manually create a database and link it to your site during installation. But things are a lot easier these days.

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Urban redesign proposals

Traffic Issue

Around 60% of the traffic uses the main road of the shopping street as a bypass route. The road connects places such as LB nagar, Saroor nagar, Vanasthalipuram, Charminar, Dilsukhnagar etc. There is lot of traffic of the buses which is creating lot of chaos and congestion on the main street.

Urban redesign proposals

Suggested Proposal to solve Traffic Problem:

Proposal for a one-way flyover (40’ wide)

As an attempt to solve the problem of the traffic movement, we are suggesting the proposal of a Flyover for one-way traffic which will take around 80% of the bus traffic.

Services in a Laundry – Fabrik Care Laundry, Rasoolpura, Begumpet

The Laundry caters to various hotels, hospitals etc. It is located at Rasoolpura, Begumpet, Hyderabad. The article discusses different services in a laundry namely water supply, drainage, electricity, fire safety and return air ducts.

The total area of the Laundry is 10,000sqft.

Total number of machines in the Laundry = 20

Total number of workers working in the Laundry = 80

Laundry

Types of Machines in the Laundry

Dry Cleaning Machines = 2 (Clothes upto 40kg can be washed in one go. The cycle of the machine is of around 30 to 40 minutes).

Wet Washing Machines = 2 (60 pieces can be washed at a time. The maximum capacity machine available in the laundry can take upto 80 pieces at a time).

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Row houses of the past and of the future

Row houses emerged in Europe in the 16th century. They are used when medium density housing is to be provided. They are also known as terraced houses or linked houses. They are generally identical or rather it would be preferable to say that they are mirror images with shared side walls.

Countries where row houses are popular

Row houses are found all across the world. They are very popular in Europe and Latin America. Some good examples of row housing can be found in North America and Oceania. In Europe, United Kingdom and France are popular for row houses or terraced houses. In North America, they are widespread. Cities such as Montreal, Toronto and Halifax in Canada have extensive examples of terraced housing. Cities with terraced housing in United States include Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, New Orleans, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco and other cities. Malaysia and Singapore are also known for a different variety of row houses.

Examples of Row housing projects across the world

Row houses in England

Grosvenor Square in London was one of the earliest terraces in England. The Great Fire of London in 1666 destroyed a lot of property. This gave a rise for an urgent housing need which was met by building terraced houses. Victorian or Georgian architectural style was generally used in the design of terraced houses. Park Crescent, Regent’s Park in London is another good example of row housing.

Park Crescent, London | Row houses in England. Source: wikipedia.com

Row houses in India

Row houses were first built in the city of Chandigarh by Le Corbusier. They were built with an intention to provide low-cost housing. Le Corbusier wanted the residents to feel the happiness of having an independent home with their little garden in the front.

One of the newest project I found interesting was the one at Karad, a town in Maharashtra. The project aims to build 68 row houses. The project has been designed by a construction company called Kachchhi Constructions which is based in Hyderabad. What fascinates me is the elegant design of row houses. The architect Javed Kachchhi has used contemporary architectural style keeping the clients needs in mind. The township offers a number of amenities and facilities such as clubhouse, swimming pool and a beautifully landscaped garden. Overall it is an amazing design scheme.

Row houses in Northern Ireland

Initially, row houses in Northern Ireland were built to house working class people. One of the examples of row housing in Northern Ireland is the one in Peckham Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland. This was built in 1981. They bricked up windows and doors to deter vandals. These houses have now been restored.

Belfast, Northern Ireland. Source: wikipedia.com

Row houses in Montreal, Canada

A large number of row houses can be found in Montreal Canada. Row houses remained a dominant type of housing during the post-war period. The row houses were subdivided into duplexes and triplexes.

Smart Meters | The next generation devices

Smart meters are next generations devices that help you measure the consumption of electricity and gas. It is different from AMR – traditional Automatic Metering reading in a way that it enable two way communication between the meter and the central system. These smart meters are gaining popularity in the west. They are used for monitoring the energy and gas consumption as well as for billing purposes.

Smart Meters

Europe has introduced smart meters that are based on Open smart grid protocol (OSGP) which has the ability to reduce load, disconnect and reconnect remotely. The research conducted in the UK on the usage of smart meters showed that smart meters were being confused with energy meters. They are being used by 1 in 3 homes in the UK. It has been estimated that £300 million could be saved annually if the smart meters are actively used by the people.1 Although it is also important that people actively pay attention to their lifestyle that demand heavy energy consumption.

Smart meters are being used across the world. The aim of using smart meters is to initiate the creation of Energy-Efficient Economy. A study was conducted which showed that homeowners consumption of electricity was reduced by 3-5%.2